Aylward Academy, Edmonton, London

Aylward Academy is one of a batch of four AET Academies with Jestico + Whiles and Carillion, won through design competition. The main feature is a new steel-framed extension threaded into the existing plan to provide teaching accommodation and new dining facilities in place of an existing 1960s system-built structure that was in very poor condition. The rival bids could not economically devise a phased programme that suited the live Academy's requirements and so had schemes featuring refurbishment of the system-built structure only. Our scheme allowed the system-build to be partially demolished in phases, retaining sufficient space during the build to meet the space requirements of the Academy. The project also involved extensive hard landscaping alterations to provide passive supervision to ease security concerns around the Academy which has had problems in the past.